CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION providing an honorary designation of 28th Avenue Northeast from Northeast 125th Street to Northeast 127th Street as “Hayashi Avenue.”
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WHEREAS, Shizuo & Yaeko Hayashi family were owners of the Lake City Farms; and
WHEREAS, the family was an active part of the community; and
WHEREAS, despite the lack of any evidence, Japanese Americans were suspected of remaining loyal to their ancestral land during World War II; and
WHEREAS, President Roosevelt signed an executive order on February 19, 1942 ordering the relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans to concentration camps in the interior of the United States; and
WHEREAS, 7,050 Japanese Americans from Seattle were forced from their homes and transported from Seattle; and
WHEREAS, most camps along the West Coast were hastily assembled and lacked basic needs, such as cots, blankets, and pillows, and had dirty and smelly living conditions; and
WHEREAS, the Hayashi family was interned in the Minidoka internment camp, they were unable to bring any possessions and were forced to sell their farm; and
WHEREAS, with the mass internment, Japanese farms locally were confiscated and transferred to non-Japanese farmers; and
WHEREAS, in a landmark report titled “Personal Justice Denied,” the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians estimated that between $810 million and $2 billion (in 1983 dollars) was lost in income and property among all Japanese evacuees; and
WHEREAS, the Hayashi family never returned to Lake City after they were released from the internment camp; and
WHEREAS, in 1976, President Gerald Ford officially apologized for Roosevelt’s executive order, and in 1988, President Ronald Reagan approved the Civil Liberties Act that provided $20,000 for each internment camp survivor; and
WHEREAS, the City has a history of stating its commitment to human rights with the creation in 1963 of the Seattle Human Rights Commission to make recommendations “with regard to the development of programs for the promotion of equality, justice and understanding among all citizens of the City” and recommend policies “affecting civil rights and equal opportunity;” and
WHEREAS, as a Human Rights City, Seattle is committed to protecting and promoting human rights and dignity, including civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. 28th Avenue Northeast from Northeast 125th Street to Northeast 127th Street shall have an honorary designation as “Hayashi Avenue”.
Section 2. The Council requests that the Seattle Department of Transportation manufacture, install, and maintain honorary signs at the intersections of 28th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 125th Street, and 28th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 127th Street, which shall reflect the “Hayashi Avenue” honorary designation.
In making the honorary designation, the Council does not intend to affect any existing or future signage other than the signs described in this section.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2020, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
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President ____________ of the City Council
The Mayor concurred the ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
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Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)